Colorado cattle deaths, costs tallied after blizzard

Jan 16, 2007 10:26 AM

The Colorado Cattleman’s Association says a blizzard that buried the state’s southeastern region has killed between 8,000 and 15,000 head of livestock. But authorities won’t know for certain the number of cattle losses until the remains of the Dec. 28 blizzard — during which winds whipped 3 feet of snow into 15-foot-tall snowdrifts that stranded farm animals — melts away.

Terry Fankhauser, executive vice president of CCA, says cattle losses alone could cost more than $10 million, but that number could double or even triple after factoring in costs associated with feed, illnesses, weight loss and equipment, among other things.

Fankhauser said relief funds released by the state helped Colorado’s cattlemen avert what could have been a worse disaster. He expressed frustration that requests to the federal government for aid specifically for livestock recovery efforts went nowhere.

"I'm a little disappointed, frankly," Fankhauser said. "We worked very hard and spent a lot of time trying to relay information and get responses in a timely fashion. There were more forks in that road than one could ever imagine. We went down a lot of dead-end streets and wasted a lot of time."

Fankhauser said his agency will be party to discussions about how the state's cattlemen can be more prepared in the future to deal with a similar crisis, without depending on federal assistance, so that rescue efforts are more timely and more cattle can be saved.

"I think we've learned a valuable lesson," Fankhauser said. "Ranchers need to take care of ranchers. Innately we've always done that, but we need to strongly look at how we can take care of ourselves in the future."

Some financial assistance is coming into the region with the help of a disaster relief fund established by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. Donations can be made by calling 866-233-3872.

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